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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. hand — help
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. sharp — clever
  6. season — of the year
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. hand — in cards
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. rush — hurry
  14. clip — for paper
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. drill — the tool
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. clip — a video
  23. season — in sport
  24. mouse — for a computer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com